[ Well, can't hurt to start with what Jae Ha managed to avoid. Ernesto's smile relaxes into an expression that's a little hard to read. ]

As far as I can tell it's some kind of force that really feeds on the worst of what's inside people. The group of us that showed up here before you all had to go through some kind of ritual that was supposed to help us accept it into us.

[ His short laugh is a little weak sounding. ]

Pretty literally. They force fed us this black ooze, and left us to suffer in misery for weeks on end as this thing tried to twist itself up inside of us. Some of us managed to fight it off, and that's who you'll see milling about here.

[ He jerks his thumb over his shoulder, indicating the Pleroma behind them. ]

But others...

[ Trailing off for a moment, Ernesto's attention drifts back to the water above them, though his expression stays pretty placid. With a shrug that's just a little too nonchalant, he looks back at Jae Ha. ]

It wasn't an easy thing to fight off. So now that group gets saddled with the same label themselves: the Kenoma. Kind of sad, but it's hard to do much for them when most of them seem ready to kill us the minute they get the order.

Or at the very least make us go through that hell again after downing some more of that sludge.

[ Now his smile pulls a little tighter into something that looks strained rather than happy. ]

Which, by the way, I'm guessing was their plan for you.